British Open Golf TournamentArticles
It was his to lose, but Ireland's Shane Lowry had no intention of letting the Claret Jug slip from his grasp as he romped to victory in the Open at Royal Portrush for his first major title. JB Holmes' strong outing through the first three days of The Open Championship totally came apart on Sunday. Shane Lowry’s storming 63 gives him a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood heading into the Open’s final round In their 83rd major playing together, Woods and Mickelson made some history The Open Championship made its return to Royal Portrush after a 68-year absence on Thursday ... and boy was it mean. Only about one-quarter of the field finished the first round under par, and some of the biggest stars in the world are not simply flirting with the cut line but actually at the bottom of the leaderboard. The first day of the 2019 Open Championship is in the books, and we’ve learned plenty already. We don’t know who’s going to win, but we’ve already got a pretty good idea of some big names that definitely won’t win. Let’s run down the big stories of the day. Former Open champion David Duval made a 14 at one hole on his way to a score of 91 that also saw him make a triple-bogey and a quadruple-bogey during the first round at Royal Portrush. Included in the 14 was a 2-stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball and two other penalties for a lost ball. "Just done something I've never done as a professional ... " said Duval, who noted he had shot 85 twice before. "It was a long day, a rough day. "A very unique, awful situation." Golf tournaments are in the business of identity cultivation. The best way to stick out from the sea of Safeway Opens and Rocket Mortgage Classics is to carve out a niche. To be known for something. Some tournaments have been more successful at this than others. The Genesis Open has emerged as a can’t-miss stop because its host venue, Riviera Country Club, is perhaps the best non-major track on the PGA Tour schedule. On Thursday at the 2019 British Open, also called the Open Championship, Tiger Woods will begin his quest for his fourth Claret Jug. He won in 2000 and 2005 at St. Andrews and also emerged victorious in 2006 at Royal Liverpool. Last year, Woods finished sixth at the Open Championship, three strokes behind eventual winner Francesco Molinari. In order to best the 2019 Open Championship field, Woods will need to fend off a highly talented group at Royal Portrush that also includes world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, who has won four of the last nine majors he's played. Koepka has already captured one major title this year, the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, while Woods took down the Masters at Augusta. The 2019 British Open, also known as the Open Championship, takes place at historic Royal Portrush in scenic Northern Ireland. The first 2019 Open Championship tee times begin on Thursday morning, with the tournament crowning a winner on Sunday. The early 2019 Open Championship weather forecast is calling for rain throughout all four rounds, with temperatures steady in the 50s and 60s, so the conditions could have a major impact on who lifts the Claret Jug at the end of the week. Francesco Molinari became the first major champion from Italy after dominating Carnoustie Hole-by-hole report: Francesco Molinari is the 2018 Open champion after a thrilling final day at Carnoustie. Pairings and tee times for the fourth and final round of The 147th Open at Carnoustie. Watch live on Sky Sports The Open. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth feature in day three's best shots from The 2018 Open Championships at Carnoustie. Tiger Woods' name shot to the top of the leaderboard at a major again. Ian O'Connor says it's OK to imagine what it would feel like if it's there when Sunday closes. Recapping the leaderboard for Round 2 of The Open Championship at Carnoustie An Open Championship at Carnoustie is a grown-man's event. The winning score in 1999 was 6 over, and eventual winner Paul Lawrie shot exactly one score better than 73. The 2007 version was significantly easier (if you want to call it that), but still only five players were better than 5 under on the week. So when I think about a golfer who I think can win this week, I'm thinking about tough, patient, good weather golfers who can drive it both ways off the tee with long irons on to slick, lightning fast fairways. There aren't a ton of golfers who fit that description at a high level, but I have a list of nine from which I think the champion golfer of 2018 will come. The 147th Open Championship is fast approaching this week, and it should come as absolute no surprise that world No. 1-ranked Dustin Johnson stands atop of the board as the favorite to win the whole thing. DJ opens with 12-1 odds entering the tournament on Thursday, followed closely by the trio of Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose. Defending champion Jordan Spieth is listed next with two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka just behind that foursome, and three-time Open winner Tiger Woods sits less than a dozen spots behind DJ. Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell may miss out on the British Open later this month — though not due to a fault of his own. McDowell flew from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport to Manchester on Sunday night ahead of Tuesday’s qualifier for The Open at St. Annes, something he needed to do well in to secure his place in the tournament. However, there was just one problem: his clubs didn’t show up. Where does Jordan Spieth want our expectations to go now? "It seems a bit unfair at 22 to be expecting something like that all the time," he said at last year's Open in a memorably frosty press conference. After it became academic that his chances of winning at Troon had been blown away in the wind, a frustrated Spieth met the media and had clearly had enough. Spieth was asked an open-ended question about where his game and mind were and he, with a refined Spiethian bite, laid into the gathered inquisitors.
|